Turkey holiday crisis as hotels desperately slash prices to stop tourist exodus
Some hotels have slashed prices by an unbelievable amount in an attempt to win back trade by offering bargain deals.
Hotels in Turkey are having to slash prices by as much as 50 percent as they battle to win back tourists who are choosing a different destination this summer.
The Eastern Mediterranean nation has long been a popular haunt for British tourists but a worrying trend has seen accommodation chiefs struggle to attract visitors.
It comes as previously loyal tourists are flocking away from Turkey in droves and instead choosing to travel to the sun-kissed shores of nearby Greece.
In April alone this year, the Grecian islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes combined welcomed tens of thousands of tourists.
In worrying news for the Turkish economy overall, inflation has rocketed to a massive 91 percent leaving locals angry at having to pay shockingly high prices.
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Fortune reports some complained at paying the equivalent of "£23 for five scoops of ice cream" and £500 for a family evening meal.
And Türkiye Today said hotels in the nation are launching a fight back against the exdous offering last-minute deals for as much as 50 percent off.
Hamit Kuk, Chief Advisor of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB), said sales were declining once offers for early bookings had come to an end.
Mr Kuk said previous high prices for July and August places had resulted in poor sales, leading to some hotels to dramatically drop their rates.
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Mehmet Isler, President of the Aegean Touristic Enterprises and Accommodations Association (ETIK), added that "survival" was now the priority.
He said: "Tourism operators are cutting prices to pay salaries, utilities, and loans. Profit is no longer a priority; survival is."
Mustafa Demir, the Chairman of the TÜRSAB Regional Representation Board, previously told Express.co.uk: “Since fixed costs, such as electricity, personnel and hotel rents, are fixed, while other food, beverage and cleaning costs are variable, our hotelier colleagues made their calculations and made discounts so that at least the rooms would not remain empty, they could pay the staff and not lay them off.”
In 2023 Turkey welcomed over 49 million international tourists, compared to a reported 36 million visitors to Greece in the same year.
